"And might I just say , I suspect, Mr Speaker, every honorable and Right Honorable Member of this house has recently been having representations by Church members on same-sex marriage.

“If the Church of England thinks that parliament is going to listen to them on moral issues such as same-sex marriage with considerable attention when the Church of England seems to be so out of step on others issues of concern to Parliament then they are simply deluding themselves.”

MPs lined up to question the right of bishops to sit in the House of Lords when the episcopate remains closed to women. Some suggested the Church might even want to imposer its own moratorium on appointing new bishops until the crisis is resolved.

The measure to consecrate women as bishops was backed overwhelmingly by the Synod, but fell short of the required two thirds majority among the laity, where an influential bloc of conservative evangelicals have built up a strong power base.

Diana Johnson, the Labour MP who tabled the urgent question, said: “It appears a broad Church is being held to ransom by a few narrow minds.”

Sir Tony said he was “quite sure” an overhaul of how the Synod is elected would now be considered to make it more representative of the view in the pews.

And he made clear that rules preventing the measure returning for several years could be circumvented in certain circumstances allowing the measure to be fast-tracked back onto the agenda.

Rival campaign groups are expected to be asked to meet with trained mediators, more used to working in war-zones, as part of the process.

One option could be asking them to go to the International Centre for Reconciliation based at Coventry Cathedral - the organisation once directed by the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby.

It was through his work there that Bishop Welby found himself held at gunpoint by African rebels.

The Daily Telegraph understands that mediation took place at Coventry in past as part of the process leading to this week’s vote.

At least one group has indicated a willingness to return there for talks. Another option would be discussions mediated by a senior clergy figure, possibly a Dean.

The Rev Preb Rod Thomas, whose Reform evangelical group spearheaded opposition among the Laity, said it would be “extraordinarily shallow” if the Church’s decision on women bishops had any bearing on the gay marriage debate.

“To suggest that you could make a decision about a major institution like marriage over a fit of pique would bean extraordinary thing to do,” he said.